Curling broom

ABSTRACT

A curling broom is provided with a bundle of wear-resistant synthetic fibers and with resilient means secured centrally within the bundle causing the fibers to spring back when flexed thereby providing a rythmic sweeping action which has become part of the game of curling.

United States Patent 1191 Flemming et al.

1 CURLING BROOM [76] Inventors: George E. Flemming, 5 Circle Rd.,

3,716,885 Beaconsfield, Quebec; Edward I.

Bassin, 3382 La Falaise, Montreal, both of Canada 919,865

1451 Apr. 30, 1974 Wiese 15/171 Thompson 15/210 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Canada.-. 15/160 7/1969 Canada 15/160 Primary Examiner-Daniel Blum or Firm-Cushman,

ABSTRACT A curling broom is provided with a bundle of wearresistant synthetic fibers and with resilient means secured centrally within the bundle causing the fibers to spring back when flexed thereby providing a rythmic sweeping action which has become part of the game of 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ATENTEU APR 30 1974 F/G.4a

CURLING BROOM This invention relates to an improved curling broom; more particularly, the present invention pertains to an improvement in a curling broom such as the one described in applicants Canadian Pat. application filed on Apr. 23, 1971 and bearing Ser. No. 111,258, now US. Pat. No. 919.865.

This type of curling broom, which consists in substituting synthetic fibers for the conventional sweeping straws, has recently been developed in order to provide longer life to the brooms. To obtain the same resiliency as that achieved with brooms made of natural fibers, the improved curling broom includes within the bundle of synthetic fibers resilient means which causes the fibers to spring back when flexed thereby providing a rythmic sweeping action which has become part of the game of curling.

The present invention is concerned with an improved construction of the above-referred resilient means of the curling broom. This novel structure obviates the disadvantages of some similarly constructed brooms wherein a central member is covered with a foam-like outer layer; it has been found that, due to excessive sweeping, this central member cuts through the foamlike material and damages the fibers.

It is an object of this invention to provide a curling broom made of synthetic fibers where the centrally disposed resilient means include a flexible plastic member covered with layers of fabric material which do not oppose excessive bending of the plastic member; by allowing the fabric material to follow the bend of the plastic member, friction wear between fabric material and plastic member is greatly reduced thereby preventing the plastic member from cutting through the fabric material and damaging the synthetic fibers.

Other objects and advantages of the improved curling 'broom according to this invention willappear more clearly from the following description of illustrative embodiments shown on the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like or corresponding parts throughout.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the lower portion of a curling broom made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view, partly schematic, taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 4a is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating another form of the invention.

Referrring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a curling broom includes a handle 22 and a bundle 24 of strong wearresistant fibers attached to the lower end of the handle. The fibers are synthetic filaments such as nylon or any other like synthetic product of a plastic nature. Polypropylene monofilaments could also be used or any derivative thereof extruded into filaments. Although these filaments have some degree of flexibility, they have little resiliency, i.e. they are easily bent but they are not capable of quickly returning to their original shape. As mentioned in the above-referred Canadian Patent Application, there are many methods of attaching the synthetic fibers to the lower end of the handle; however, one method which has been found satisfactory is known as the Plasbond (trademark) process which consists in placing the upper ends of the fibers in a plastic cup 26 and then pouring a polyester resin which then solidifies to provide a chemical and mechanical bond between the fibers and between the fibers and the cup. To prevent the fibers from excessive spreading during sweeping, binding means 28 and 30 loosely surround the bundle; their structure and attachment will hereinbelow be described.

Curling broom 20 further includes within the bundle of fibers 24 resilient means 32 (see FIGS. 3-4) which give to the fibers a resiliency comparable to that naturally present in straws. The resilient means 32 include an elongate generally flat flexible plastic member 34 which has its upper end 34a received in a slit 36 provided in the lower extremity of handle 22; end 34a is secured to the handle by appropriate fastening means, such as bolts or the like. Plastic member 34 is enveloped with a first layer 38 of fabric material serving to pad the flexible member 34. A second layer 40 made of bonded nylon covers the first layer 38 and adds strength to the resilient means. Over the second layer 40, a third layer 42 of nylon non-woven fabric is provided and comes in contact with the surrounding fibers. Layers 40 and 42 may be stitched together at their lower end to form a closed end 44 thereby eliminating contact between the edges of the lower end 34b of member 34 with the fibers. Also the lower end 34b may be given rounded corners and edges to eliminate sharpedged cutting effect.

A small degree of resiliency is present in layers 38, 40 and 42 and co-acts with the high degree of resiliency in member 34 to allow a certain of amount of bending by the resilient means and to reduce a certain amount of friction wear between the layers and the plastic member 34.

The inventors have found that an unexpectedly high improvement is obtained if the resilient means include the combination of a flexible plastic member formed from a polyamide material, such as the one known under the trademark DELRIN made by Dupont or under the trademark CELCON by Celanese Co., of a first envelope formed of a brushed nylon with a jersey polyester backing, such as the one known under the trademark TEMPO FABRIC, of a second layer formed of bonded nylon, such as the one known under the trademark CEREX, and of a third layer formed of a nylon non-woven fabric, such as the one known under the trademark FRONT RUNNER.

The lower binding 28 consists of a tape of fabric material which is supported by the resilient means 32 by means of stitchings 46 extending through the fibers and the lower end of layer 42. The tape 28 extends preferably about halfway between the middle of the fibers and the lower sweeping ends thereof.

The intermediate binding 30 surrounds the bundle 24 between the lower binding 28 and the cup 26; binding 30 is supported by the resilient means 32 by means of stitchings 48 which extend through the fibers and the layer 42. Binding 30 prevents that portion of the fibers located between the upper and lower bindings from curving out to an extent whereby they would not return to their original state.

FIG. 4a illustrates a flap 50 which has its upper part secured to the end 44 of the resilient means 32; this flap is preferably made of a soft vinyl-like material and serves only to assist the broom in providing a particular rythmic sound which has become part of the sweeping in the game of curling. The lower part of the flap extends at about the flared sweeping ends of the fibers.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to two specific forms, it will become evident to the man skilled in the art that it may be refined and modified in various ways. It is therefore wished to have it understood that this invention is not limited in interpretation except by the terms of the following claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A curling broom comprising a handle; a bundle of wear-resistant synthetic fibers attached to a lower end of the handle; resilient means centrally disposed within the bundle and being fixed at its upper portion to the lower end of said handle, the lower portion of said means terminating about halfway between the midsection of said fibers and the sweeping ends thereof; upper binding means tightly securing the bundle adjacent the lower end of the handle; and lower binding means attached to said lower portion of said resilient means and loosely securing the bundle; said resilient means including an elongate generally flat plastic member secured to the lower end of said handle, a first envelope of fabric material in covering relation with said plastic member, a second envelope of bonded nylon over said first envelope, and a third envelope of nylon non-woven fabric over said second envelope; said plastic member having sufficient resiliency to cause said bundle of fibers to spring back to a normal nonsweeping position after being flexed.

2. A curling broom as defined in claim 1 further comprising intermediate binding means located between said upper and lower binding means and loosely surrounding said bundle to prevent said fibers from curving out between said upper and lower binding means.

3. A curling broom as defined in claim 2 wherein said intermediate binding means and said lower binding means each consists of a tape surrounding said bundle and of stitching means extending through said fibers and said third envelope of nylon non-woven fabric.

4. A curling broom as defined in claim 1 wherein a flap made of a soft vinyl material is attached to the lower portion of said resilient means and extends down to about the sweeping ends of said fibers.

5. A curling broom as defined in claim 3 wherein said first envelope of fabric material has a jersey polyester backing. 

1. A curling broom comprising a handle; a bundle of wearresistant synthetic fibers attached to a lower end of the handle; resilient means centrally disposed within the bundle and being fixed at its upper portion to the lower end of said handle, the lower portion of said means terminating about halfway between the mid-section of said fibers and the sweeping ends thereof; upper binding means tightly securing the bundle adjacent the lower end of the handle; and lower binding means attached to said lower portion of said resilient means and loosely securing the bundle; said resilient means including an elongate generally flat plastic member secured to the lower end of said handle, a first envelope of fabric material in covering relation with said plastic member, a second envelope of bonded nylon over said first envelope, and a third envelope of nylon non-woven fabric over said second envelope; said plastic member having sufficient resiliency to cause said bundle of fibers to spring back to a normal nonsweeping position after being flexed.
 2. A curling broom as defined in claim 1 further comprising intermediate binding means located between said upper and lower binding means and loosely surrounding said bundle to prevent said fibers from curving out between said upper and lower binding means.
 3. A curling broom as defined in claim 2 wherein said intermediate binding means and said lower binding means each consists of a tape surrounding said bundle and of stitching means extending through said fibers and said third envelope of nylon non-woven fabric.
 4. A curling broom as defined in claim 1 wherein a flap made of a soft vinyl material is attached to the lower portion of said resilient means and extends down to about the sweeping ends of said fibers.
 5. A curling broom as defined in claim 3 wherein said first envelope of fabric material has a jersey polyester backing. 